korean american museum of art and cultural center

los angeles, california

This competition entry celebrates the Korean culture as practiced and understood by the Korean American population. The formal composition of this project embodies traditional Korean garden design elements which work at various scales both symbolic and literal. The project program seeks to introduce Korean culture to America through scholarly research, performance arts, permanent collections, temporary exhibits, and visiting artists. Conceptually, the project engages the urban street in a dialog of contrast and metaphor by presenting a large body of water organized as a forecourt to symbolize the physical relationship of Korea and North America. This layer of water forms the roof of the visiting artists' studios providing isolation yet introducing a prismatic quality of light to the studio space. The water from the roof cascades into a  lower garden that flanks permanent exhibition galleries. Above the galleries, a sculpture court provides a vertical separation between the galleries and the performance space and continues the idea of merging the building with the landscape.